Mayor, Commission approve reducing millage rate, budget includes salary & department increases

Budget includes salary, department increases

At its meeting on September 3, the COmmission approved Mayor Lester Miller’s recommendation to reduce the millage rate to to 9.9 mills. That is a reduction of 0.823 mills from last year and 10.431 since Mayor Miller took office.

This millage rate – even with the reduction – is funding pay increases for employees (including for public safety like sheriff deputies and firefighters), as well as increases in departmental and focus area funding.

“Macon-Bibb County is working together, and we continue to climb,” said Mayor Miller. “You’ll see in this budget, the fruits of our labor.”

The growth Macon-Bibb County has seen since 2022 is evident in this year’s budget, taking the budget total from $174 million to $211.6 million, and still including a tax reduction. In the last four years, funding for public safety increased nearly $16 million, recreation and beautification increased more than $4.5 million, and economic development has increased more than $4.5 million.

“I am so excited about the direction we are heading in,” said Mayor Miller. “It’s not every day that a community can say they’ve increased all their focus points by millions of dollars per department, given raises to all of their employees, continue to support public safety, while having some of the best infrastructure we have in place, and at the same time be able to decrease our tax rate by 52%.”